Crossing Wires
by melancholyMisfit
Summary: Karkat has grown tired of his roommate's multiple sex partners visiting their dorm at all hours of the day and night. Not that he has much time to worry about such things while he's trying to get close to the girl he has a crush, keep Gamzee from falling apart, and keep from failing his classes. - Boarding school AU, pairing: SolKat, M for language, drug use, and sex
1. Chapter 1

_I need your help guys. I've been wanting to post this first chapter for about a week and haven't been able to get anyone to read it over. If you want this fic to update, as in you like the plot and are curious to see where it goes, please let me know. Tell me if you think it's a bad set up, if the chapter was crap, any thoughts at all! I'm just really not confident about this story in the least and I'm not going to waste my time writing and posting the chapters if no one is interested. So please be honest, be harsh if you feel you need to be. Just let me know if this is worth continuing while keeping in mind the first chapter is the setup chapter._

Crossing Wires  
Chapter One

Your name is Karkat Vantas and _man_ do you really hate your roommate. He's really into computers and is always leaving cords stretched across the room. It's impossible not to trip over them in your just woken haze and he always yells at you for it. It ends in an argument every time and leaves you more exhausted than you were when you initially woke up. He's also a sarcastic smartass who picks at every little thing you do. You find yourself wanting to smack him around and maybe injure him a bit on a daily basis. Possibly the worst part is all the partners he has coming to the room. Men and women, he doesn't care. He'll fuck anything alive and consenting. You've found yourself crashing on the floors and couches of friends on more than one occasion just to avoid his sexual escapades.

Take now for instance, it's four in the afternoon, classes are over for the day and all you want to do is head back to your room. Ideally you'd like to change and kick back on your bed for a bit. Somehow you ended up with no homework tonight and you could really use the break and some relaxation in your own room. Of course when you get there his uniform tie is hanging on the door and voices can be heard very clearly on the other side. You sigh out a frustrated growl and slam your fist on the door.

"Mother fuck, Captor! Put your damn pants on long enough for me to grab a change of clothes!" You yell through the door.

You hear a rustling from inside the room followed by footsteps. The door swings open and a girl stumbles out, her blonde hair a mess, her uniform in disarray and a goofy grin on her face. She leans against the doorframe for a moment, weak in the knees, and you can't help thinking she looks familiar but you're not sure why.

"You've got a really great roommate." She sighs out before staggering down the hall.

You grimace and enter your room, slamming the door. He's sitting on the edge of his bed, in nothing but boxers, cleaning the lenses of his glasses. You ignore him and go to your closet, removing your blazer and tie as you cross the room.

"Sorry about that. We were in the same room for Sex Ed. As soon as they started talking about sexual desires she couldn't keep her hands off me. The only logical thing to do was bring her back here and give her a little lesson of my own." You don't look at him but you know he's smirking.

You hate the sound of his voice. God that stupid lisp. You hate it. Something like that wouldn't have bothered you in the past; you've never been enough of a douche to hate someone for a speech impediment. But coming from him it disgusts you. On more than one occasion you've had to hold yourself back from stuffing your thumbs in this mouth to show him where his tongue should rest when saying his Ss. You've already changed your shirt and are kicking off your pants to trade them out for jeans when you hear a low whistle behind you.

"Shit KK, I've never really appreciated what a nice ass you have."

"Do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up for two seconds until I can get out of here." You grumble through clenched teeth.

He chuckles and you can hear the creak of the springs in his bed as he stands. You've pulled on your jeans and have grabbed your phone and hoodie. You're double checking to make sure you have everything when he comes to stand behind you and grabs two handfuls of your ass. You jump and yelp in surprise, pulling away and whirling to face him.

"Don't fucking touch me!" You bark.

"Just testing to see if they're as firm as they look." He grins.

"You want to find out if a black eye hurts as bad as it looks too? Tell you what, I'll even give you two to keep up with your stupid duality kink."

He lets out a loud laugh, tossing his head back. Angry and tired you choose to leave before you really do end up hitting him. You rip open the door to find Terezi standing on the other side, hand raised as if she'd been about to knock.

"Hey there Karkles." She grins. "Want to join Vriska and me for a movie in our dorm?" She asks.

"Anything is better than staying here." You mumble, exiting the room past Terezi.

"Hey TZ." Sollux nods ignoring the fact that she can't actually see the movement.

"Hey Sollux. How's living with this idiot?" She teases, smacking her hand down on your shoulder. It's eerie how she always knows exactly where you are.

"Would be better if he wasn't such a prude."

"Excuse me for not sleeping with the entire school like you." You snap. "Let's go Terezi."

She waves goodbye and the two of you head down the hall toward the handicap elevator. She bumps your arm while you wait for the doors to open. You glance at her and ignore the way she's smiling at you. Or…past you really. But it's directed at you.

"So you still haven't slept with him, hm?" She asks.

"Shut up Terezi."

She snickers and steps onto the elevator as soon as the doors are opened. You follow her in and press the button for the bottom floor. She's surprisingly quiet until you get to her room. You close the door behind you and mumble a greeting to Vriska. She's emptying a bag of microwave popcorn into a plastic bowl, the TV idling on the title screen for the movie. You sit on the edge of Terezi's bed accepting the can of pop she hands you. She plops down next to you, resting her cane against her nightstand.

"After our last talk I'm surprised you haven't at least given it some thought." She says. Yea ok, you hadn't really been expecting her to leave it alone.

"Drop it." You growl, popping open your can.

"What are we not dropping to save Karkat his pride today?" Vriska asks, wheeling her desk chair over and taking a seat.

"The fact that he very obviously wants to bed Sollux." Terezi responds with a grin.

"What? You mean you haven't yet? What are you waiting for?"

"I'm not talking about this." You say in vain. The odds of them leaving it be are very slim now.

"You don't have to have sex with him you know. But I do advice you at least let him give you head. He's really great with his tongue you know."

You choke on the mouthful of pop you were trying to swallow. "How the hell would you know?"

"Oh please are you really surprised that I've slept with him?" Vriska asks with a chuckle.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?"

"My night with Sollux was before John. But don't change the subject. Aren't you attracted to him at all?"

"The only thing I want to do with that idiot is pound him into the ground."

"Funny, I expected you to be the one being pounded into the ground."

Terezi cackles and you squirm down into your hoodie to hide the blush that's creeping up your cheeks. "You know damn well that's not what I meant!" You snap. "Aren't we supposed to be watching a movie?"

Vriska grabs the remote and thankfully pushes play. They're quiet during the movie aside from occasional commentary on the plot and characters. Being with Terezi has always been relaxing. You'd dated her for a few months when you were both thirteen. It hadn't ended well but somehow you'd managed to hang on to your friendship. You were grateful for that. You've always loved her. As a friend, sister or lover you were never really sure but you knew for a fact that you couldn't live without her.

When it came to Vriska you aren't really sure how to feel. She was never one of your better friends but on occasion you'd had pleasing conversations. She'd actually been there a lot during your breakup with Terezi and had played a major part in patching things up. She's Terezi's best friend, always has been as far as you know, and the dragon obsessed girl trusted her more than anyone else. That had frustrated you when you were together but now that you were older you really admired that kind of friendship. You find yourself wishing that you had a friend like that. Sure, Gamzee was an alright friend and you liked to spend time with him but he wasn't exactly all there. Meaningful conversations were impossible to share with him. You really should widen your circle of friends. Most became close to their roommates but that obviously wasn't happening for you.

When the movies over the three of you head to the mess hall for dinner. It's crowded and noisy giving you an almost instant headache. You hate eating with the rest of the school but at least it was better than being in your room. Once a week you and some friends would drive into town and eat at one of the local restaurants. Unfortunately none of you had the funds to do that tonight so here you were in the mess hall. At least it was only the boarding students here for dinner. It's much worse at lunch when the day students are there clogging up the tables and food line as well. After you've each grabbed a tray of food you search the room for the table your friends are occupying. It was easy enough to spot the tangled curly mess that was Gamzee's hair. You sat next to him, Tavros on his other side. Vriska playfully, or at least you think it was meant to be playful, punched Tav's arm as she passed to sit on the other side next to John. He glared at John who replied with a smirk. You don't know the full story there other than Vriska and Tavros used to date and, while he seems to be over her, he hates John for swooping in and stealing her attention.

Gamzee's arm loops around Tavros's shoulders momentarily distracting him and bringing a light flush to caramel colored cheeks. You've known for a while now that Gamzee has a thing for the other boy. It seemed the only person who didn't know was Tavros but you're pretty sure he was just playing oblivious. You glance around the table and notice that someone is missing.

"Where's Kanaya?" You ask, taking a bite from your dry roast beef sandwich.

"She's eating dinner at her girlfriend's place tonight." John answers, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

You roll your eyes. Why everyone is so interested in the sex lives of others you'll never understand. "What about your sister?"

"Who knows? I haven't seen her all day."

As if summoned by your question Jade appeared practically bouncing over to your table with a tray of food. She took the remaining seat next to John and immediately turned her smile to you.

"What's wrong Karkat? You look grumpier than usual."

"Nothing's wrong." You respond, turning your eyes to your tray.

"He's sexually frustrated." Vriska ignores your glare and continues. "We were just discussing earlier how he really needs to just fuck Sollux already so the rest of us can get some peace."

Jade giggles and you try to shrink into yourself. There is someone you like, someone you wouldn't mind getting close to and that someone is definitely not Sollux Captor. Your ideal mate is a short girl with green eyes and curly black hair. She wears glasses, has a slight over bite and...is Jade. Your dream girl is Jade but she's never going to notice how you feel about her so there's no point in dwelling on it. Still you'd prefer not to be embarrassed in front of her or have her believing you've got the hots for some douche. You realize you've been staring at her when Gamzee bumps your shoulder and you turn your eyes to see his dopey smile. His arm is no longer around Tavros who seems to have forgotten Gamzee is even there. You don't know what would be worse, the person you're in love with not knowing how you felt or knowing but pretending they don't. Gamzee acts like nothing bothers him but you know that deep down behind that mask of face paint and goofy attitude he's got all the same feelings as the rest of the world. Sure you've never actually seen those feelings but you know they're there.

After dinner you beg your friends for a place to stay but tonight is one of the times the night monitors comes to every room to make sure everyone is in the correct bed. And only one student per bed luckily so at least you know Sollux will be alone when you get back to your room. Kanaya is safe because she will have gotten an overnight away pass that she'd come back with tomorrow signed by Rose's mom. You go back to the junior dorm building with Terezi, Vriska and Tavros while John and Gamzee head to the senior building and Jade goes alone to the sophomore building. There's a comfortable silence between you and Tav as you accompany him on the handicap elevator to the second floor. You've never really been friends but he's an ok guy and Gamzee likes him. If he ever decides to return his feelings odds are you're going to spend a lot of time with him anyway.

You say goodnight as he wheels down the hall in the opposite direction and you're left alone in front of your door. It's silent on the other side. Maybe he's gone to bed already, at least there's no tie on the door. You unlock the door and go inside to find him at his desk tapping away at his keyboard. He's got his headphones in and doesn't notice you right away. In these moments you can't help thinking that he looks like a normal kid rather than a constantly horny promiscuous asshole. He becomes aware of your presence when you close the door and kick off your shoes. He pulls out one ear bud and rotates in his chair to face you.

"Hey KK." For once there's no teasing sarcastic tone to his voice. He just sounds tired.

"Hey." You mumble in response, digging in your drawer for a pair of pajama pants. Typically you'd sleep in boxers but you'd prefer not to after he'd groped your ass earlier.

"Did you have fun watching the movie with TZ and VK?" He asks, glancing back at his computer screen.

"Yea I guess."

He's silent for a moment and seemingly distracted. Having found a pair of pants to sleep in, you take advantage of his attention being elsewhere to change quickly. He only turns back to you when you plop down on your bed with an audible squeak.

"Going to bed already?"

"Yep. I'm tired." You don't look at him as your remove your hoodie and throw it to the foot of your bed.

"Well, goodnight." He says as he turns his back to you and puts his headphone back in.

You sigh. Ok, maybe he wasn't necessarily being an ass right now. Maybe you could be friends with him if you spoke to him during these moments. Or at least reach an understanding with him so he'll stop bringing so many sex buddies to your room.

"Hey." You say, but of course he doesn't hear you. "Hey, Sollux." You call out a bit louder.

He whips around in his chair and pulls out both headphones, surprise written all over his face. "Yea?"

You lie down and cover yourself with your blankets. "Goodnight." You mumble under your breath. He lets out a quiet breathy chuckle before going back to his work.

_Any thoughts guys? Is this one to continue or no?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Oh hey I wrote another chapter._

_Alright. I fixed the typos and two bits that contradicted each other. All should be good now._

Chapter Two

When you woke this morning Sollux was already gone. It's Thursday so you haven't had any classes with him and he wasn't in the mess hall for lunch. Typically you see him a few times a day chatting with a possible romantic partner. It'd be refreshing to go without seeing him if you weren't convinced he was back in your room with someone. It wouldn't even bother you so much if you didn't share the room with him. It's not like you care what he does. You don't even like him. He's a tool and a jerk and totally not worth your time.

To your delight everyone was off the topic of your relationship with your roommate today. You were certain Vriska and Terezi were going to tease you again but they were more concerned about Tavros. He was an easy target for bullies. In the past you wouldn't have wanted to mess with him. He's tall (not taller than Gamzee but taller than most of you), pretty decently built and incredibly strong. Everyone jokes about him being like a bull. The septum ring doesn't really help much either. He used to play football until he was in an accident that paralyzed him. You're not really sure about the details but you know Vriska was somehow involved. Either way, now that he was in the chair others felt they could pick on him without consequences. Unless Aradia was around of course. It killed his confidence. He'd always been a little on the timid side (which was pretty amusing given his size) bit it'd gotten worse since the accident. Apparently some seniors decided it would be funny to put his back wheels over one of the bumper blocks in the parking lot. Vriska and John had found him after fifth period and rescued him. They'd been trying to get names out of him all day but he wouldn't tell. As bad as you feel for the guy you're grateful it had turned the attention away from you.

You've just left your last class of the day and are looking forward to your night of bad movies and junk food with Gamzee. You're hoping your room is empty (or at least void of any sex partners) so you can change out of your uniform without hassle. You're nearing the junior building when you hear someone calling your name.

"Karkat! Wait up a sec."

You turn to see Jade running toward you with a death grip on an armful of books. As she gets close you can see that they're not text books or novels but books on robotics. Her glasses have slid down her nose and you want to reach out and fix them for her. Instead you shove your hands in your pockets to prevent yourself from doing anything awkward. She fixes them herself when she's stopped in front of you.

"I've been looking for you! I have a request of sorts."

"Sure, what is it?" Normally you wouldn't be so willing to do a favor for someone else. Especially if you weren't getting anything out of it. But this was Jade.

"Have you ever heard of organized robot fighting?" It takes you a moment to process what she's said. She looks unbearably cute right now with her hair tousled from the wind and a toothy grin directed at you. "Karkat?"

"Oh, uh, no. I've never heard of it. What is it?"

"Basically you get a team together, build a robot and then put it in a ring to fight against other robots! It's really amazing and fun to watch. Our robotics club hasn't ever competed but this year we're going to give it a shot! We've already started designing the robot but we've still got to build it and get it approved for fighting."

"Where do I fall into this?"

"Well, we need five members on our team and we only have four. My cousin was going to be number five but because it's the junior league and he's over age nineteen he's too old. He just supervises us now. So I guess what I'm asking is…would you be our fifth member? You wouldn't have to do anything other than show up to meetings and the matches."

"When are the meetings?"

"Fridays at five in the science building. Room 413."

"And I wouldn't have to build the robot or anything?"

"Nope! You'd just need to know the basics in case they ask you anything at the qualifying match."

A chance to spend time with Jade and help her out? Like you really need to think about this at all. "Alright. I guess I'll join."

She bounces and squeals before throwing her free arm around your shoulders in a half hug. "Thank you so much Karkat! I can't tell you how much this means to me! To the entire team!"

"No problem." You hug her loosely and awkwardly, glad that for the moment she can't see your blush.

She pulls away and glances down at her watch. "Jeez, I'm running late right now but I'll see you tomorrow at 5! Don't forget!" She calls over her shoulder as she dashes toward the sophomore dorms.

You've never had much of an interest in robots or engineering but if you don't have to do much it won't be a problem. Plus you get to hang out with Jade and remind her of how cool you are for joining the team just to help her out. Maybe she'll finally swoon for you and realize you're the perfect match for her. Or maybe she'll just thank you and give you a platonic kiss on the cheek. Either is ok you guess as long as you get to spend some time with her. You developed a crush on her when you were a freshman. You'd just met John and he'd invited you to come over during spring break to play video games with him. That's when you met Jade. She'd been with her friend Nepeta who kept giving you weird looks. Actually she still gives you weird looks when you see her and she calls you by the unwanted nickname "Karkitty". You'd thought Jade was cute immediately but you don't make a move on your bro's little half sister. Luckily everyone seems to be oblivious to your feelings for the adorable girl.

When you get to your dorm it's surprisingly empty. Even if he's alone you can usually find Captor at one of his computers clacking away at his keyboard. It almost worries you a little that you haven't seen him all day but you shake it off. Why should you be worried? He's probably off making out with someone. Or maybe he was finally caught by a teacher and hauled off to the principal's office. After you change you start to head over to the senior building. This building isn't much different than the junior building. The girls are on the first floor, the boys on the second floor. You see Tavros up ahead of you and call after him. He stops and spins around in his chair.

"Hey Karkat, uh, what are you doing over here?" He asks wheeling to meet you half way down the hall.

"Bad movie night with Gamzee. You?"

"Oh, I wanted to return John's hoodie." He gestured to the dark blue hoodie that sat folded on his lap. "He lent it to me earlier."

"I thought you hated each other."

"Heh well, I guess we changed our minds."

There's a light flush on his cheeks but you think nothing of it. "Do you want to join us for movies afterward?"

He's turned back in the direction of the elevator and you find yourself pushing his chair for him.

"Nah I've got some studying to do. Thanks though."

You've reached the elevator and are waiting for it to open when you hear a door to your left open. Out of curiosity you glance over in time to see Sollux exit the room. The same blonde from yesterday hugs him and kisses him on the cheek.

"Text me if you need me." She winks as he turns to leave.

He's got a goofy grin on his face that makes your chest feel tight. You'd be lying if you said he didn't have a nice smile but for some reason it pisses you off and you want to smack that grin right off his face. He slows when he sees you. You've looked away and are focusing on the elevator doors.

"Hey TV." He says, nodding at the boy in the chair. "KK."

"Hi Sollux." Tavros responds. You choose to ignore him.

"What are you two doing in the senior building?"

"Could ask you the same thing." You snap. You don't really know why you snap but it's out before you can stop it.

"Visiting an acquaintance of mine. We were having a very in depth feelings jam."

"All day?"

"You noticed I was missing? Aw KK you do care."

"Fuck you. I don't give a damn what you do with your time."

The elevator doors open and you wheel Tavros inside and stab the second floor button harder than necessary. The doors close leaving a smirking Sollux alone in the hallway. You sigh and lean against the back wall of the elevator. Tavros looks at you over his shoulder with concern on his face.

"You two don't really good along, do you?"

"Why would we? That guy is a douche."

"Why don't you request a new roommate?"

"I did. No one was willing to trade. I guess I'm not the only one who hates him."

Tavros was silent for the rest of the short ride. When the doors open you wheel him out before saying your goodbyes and walking in the opposite direction. Gamzee's door is unlocked and slightly ajar when you get there. He's sitting on the floor with a bottle of Faygo hanging loosely in his hand. He smiles at you when you walk in.

"Hey Karbro, what are you doing here?" He asks, his eyes half closed and blood shot.

"We're supposed to watch movies. Did you seriously forget?" You're still wound up because of Sollux and are trying not to take it out on Gamzee but it's difficult.

"Nah bro I didn't forget. Except I don't think I have any movies." He looks around the room with a confused look on his face.

You sigh and plop down on his bed. "Why do you always do this?"

"Do what brother?"

"This. Every time you're having an episode I'm there to help you out but when I need some bro time to just chill and watch movies you never come through. You do this every time we have plans."

He doesn't say anything and when you glance over the edge of the bed you find he's fallen asleep. Of course. You drop a blanket over him and leave. Where are you supposed to go now? You don't want to go back to your dorm after that run in with Sollux. Luckily as you're sulking you hear Tavros's voice down the hall. He's leaving John's room saying his goodbyes. He sees you and gives you a questioning look.

"Gamzee fell asleep." You sigh.

"Ah that's, uh, too bad."

You shrug. "I was wondering, you don't have a roommate right?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Do you mind if I crash in your dorm tonight?"

"Oh, uh, I guess not. That'd be ok."

"Thanks." You hadn't realized just how tired you were until the relief of having a place to sleep washes over you. You two chat and joke around on your way back to the junior dorms. He heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth and tells you to make yourself at home. They gave him a single room so he could get around easily but there was still a roll out cot in the closet. You set it up and are lying down by the time he gets back. You say goodnight and fall into a dreamless sleep.

Friday morning it takes you a minute to remember where you are and why your legs feel so uncomfortable. As your eyes come into focus you remember the night before and realize your legs feel so uncomfortable because you'd slept in your jeans. You're not as angry as you were yesterday but you're still a little upset. At Sollux, at Gamzee, at yourself for being upset with them. You're preparing for a day of self loathing and bad moods when you remember what today is. It's Friday. Today is the meeting of the robotics club. You get to spend two hours with Jade.

You thank Tavros for sharing his room and put away the cot before rushing down the hall to your room to change. Sollux is still asleep when you get there. Class will be starting in forty minutes. If he doesn't get up now he'll be late. But why should you care? You go about your business changing into your uniform and combing through your messy hair. You run to the bathroom to brush your teeth and when you get back he's still not awake. You've got about thirty-five minutes now and you start to feel guilty. You stand by the edge of his bed and try to think of the best way to wake him.

"Captor." You say in a raised voice. He groans but doesn't get up. "You're going to be late for class. Get up."

He peeks open one eye before putting on a pitiful face. "I don't feel good." He whines.

"You probably got mono from one of the sleazy people you hook up with."

"Come here." He motions with a limp hand for you to come closer completely ignoring the jab at him.

With a grimace set in place you crouch down next to his bed. You think he's going to be completely lame and recite some death scene from a shitty movie but instead he surprises you. He springs up looking completely healthy and plants a wet kiss on your unsuspecting cheek.

"Morning sunshine." He teases while throwing the covers off his legs and getting up like nothing's wrong.

Anger swells inside of you as you stand and swipe at your cheek. You grab your backpack and head to the door. "Fuck you." You mumble before stomping out into the hall and slamming the door behind you.

For the most part your day is uneventful. You're given a group assignment in history and end up in a group with Terezi and Kanaya. At lunch Gamzee talks about a dream he had about you. Apparently he didn't realize you were ever actually there. Figures. You avoid Sollux for the majority of the day only seeing him during your math class. You refuse to look at him but you catch a smirk as he walks past you to his seat intentionally bumping your shoulder. You think of Jade and try to calm your rising anger. By the end of the day you're too excited to care about Sollux or Gamzee or anything else for that matter. Classes end just after three so you kill the two hours before the club meeting by doing your homework in the library with Terezi and Kanaya. You discuss what to do for your history project and when you check the time again it's ten to five and you decide it's time to go. You say your goodbyes and all but run to the science building.

When you get to the room Jade is already there with an older male version of herself. He kind of looks like a more muscular John. The family resemblance is just really strong in their family you guess. A blonde kid with pointy sunglasses is sitting next to him and you don't notice at first that their hands are intertwined on top of the table. The last member of the group is probably the most muscular guy you've ever seen in your entire life. How you managed to miss him walking around campus you will never know. Jade grins and hops down from her stool.

"Karkat! You came!" She exclaims flinging her arms around your shoulders. She grabs your hand and drags you over to the table. "This is Karkat. He's going to help us out so our team can qualify!"

You study each of their faces as they stare back at you. The blonde kid has a blank look on his face and you're not even sure if he's looking at you behind those really lame glasses. Jake, you're assuming he's Jake, is smiling at you and the other guy is looking at the table dabbing at his sweaty forehead with a towel.

"So you're Karkat, eh? I'm Jake. We really appreciate you taking the time to help us out! Jade here says good things about you." He says, holding his free hand out.

His hand envelopes yours as you shake.

"That's Dirk, he's Jake's boyfriend." She whispers the last part in your ear but it was kind of obvious from the second you walked into the room. "And he's Equius."

Equius…why does that name sound so familiar? "Oh hey, you're that football guy right?" You ask.

"I am." He says without looking at you.

"So, there are only five of us here. I thought you said Jake didn't qualify as a team member." You say, turning to Jade.

"Roxy's our fifth member. She can't make it today. You'll probably meet her next week." She responds.

You nod and take the empty seat next to Jade. They start off the meeting by showing you what they have so far of their robot. It's mostly a pile of parts that make no sense to you at this point. Dirk shows you the blueprints and how the robot should look when it's done. They explain all of the extra features including an electromagnet that can be flipped on and off remotely to hold the opponent in place while it's pummeled. All in all it sounds pretty cool. It's when they get into the technical talk that you get lost. You try to listen and follow along as best as you can. Jade whispers simplified explanations to you every few minutes. It helps a little but you're still confused for the most part. By the end of the meeting you've exchanged phone numbers with Dirk and Jake. Equius leaves immediately so you don't really get the chance to say anything to him.

You're walking with Jade towards the dorms when a boy that looks just like Dirk appears down the path. In fact you would have thought Dirk rinsed the gel out of his hair and switched out his shades had he not been walking behind you. Jade skipped toward him and hugged him. You felt a pang of jealousy that only grew worse when she stood on her toes and kissed him. When the rest of you approached the Dirk lookalike, with his arm still around Jade's waist, gave Dirk a fist bump and called him 'bro'.

"Who's the new kid?" He asked while possibly looking at you. Again, it was really hard to tell with the glasses in the way.

"That's Karkat. Remember? I told you he was going to help us out."

"Oh right. Hey."

"Hi." You mumble.

"Karkat this is Dave, my boyfriend." Jade is all smiles but inside you feel like you've been punched in the stomach.

"Uh…nice to meet you." you manage. "Anyway, I've got to go. I've got plans. See you guys next Friday."

You wave over your shoulder as you walk away. You barely hear their goodbyes through your heart pounding in your ears. You don't remember the rest of the walk to your dorm but somehow you're there with your keys in the lock. You close the door behind you and immediately collapse on your bed.

Sollux swivels around in his chair. "How'd the meeting go?"

"Bleh." You respond, the noise muffled by your comforter.

"That bad?"

"The meeting was fine. It was after the meeting that sucked." You're about to say more when something occurs to you. When did you tell him about the club? You sit up and look at him. "How did you know about the meeting?"

"Vriska and Terezi."

"Of course." You flop back again and sigh.

"So are you going to tell me?"

"Why would I?"

"Roommates code. Anything you tell me will never leave this room."

"Yea right."

"Do you really have any reason not to trust me?"

"No but I don't really have a reason to trust you either."

"Fair enough. Still, telling me might help."

You have a brief battle with yourself over whether or not to tell him and end up blurting it out. "Jade has a boyfriend."

"Yea, that Dave kid."

"How did you know?"

"I know his sister."

"Of course you do."

"You still like her? I figured that crush would have died by now."

"Shut up and just leave me to wallow in my own fucking misery."

"Dude relax. Their relationship can't last forever." When you don't say anything he sighs. "Are you still going to stay in the club?"

"Yea. I can't just change my mind and leave them with an incomplete team."

He hums and doesn't say anything more but you can hear his chair squeak as he turns back to his laptop and continues his typing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

You don't want to get out of bed. You dreamt about Jade and Dave's wedding. She asked you to be her maid of honor and for some stupid reason you agreed. You wore a green dress and stood beside her and watched her marry Dave. You woke up after they kissed and your dress turned into a snake that tried to strangle you when you yelled out for Jade. You just lay there staring at the ceiling and not moving. It's already past noon and you're starving but food just doesn't sound good right now. Sollux left sometime in the morning and hasn't been back yet. You find yourself wondering what he does all day. Surely he can't be hooking up all the time right? You don't know why you even care. You try to think of anything that's not Jade but your mind keeps wandering back to her. It figures that she has a boyfriend. Why wouldn't she? Everything in your life turns to shit no matter what you do. You make friends with an awesome kid? Well turns out he's a drug addict that can't even remember when you have plans let alone stay awake for those plans. You find a really amazing girl that you're pretty sure you love and of course she has a boyfriend. You hate to admit it but he's good looking. Better looking than you. Taller than you too. Jade had to stand on her toes just to kiss him. You're almost shorter than her. What girl wants to date a guy that's shorter than her?

You sigh and roll to your side. Everything hurts. That's what you get for staying in bed for so long. You end up sitting up to stretch. Your back pops and your legs loosen a bit. You wonder how much longer you can stay in bed before you develop bedsores. While you're contemplating that there's a knock on your door. It doesn't sound normal. Almost like plastic tapping the wood. You groan and shuffle to the door. Terezi and Vriska are standing on the other side both grinning in a way that makes your stomach turn. It had been the little plastic dragon head at the end of her cane that you'd heard hitting the door.

Vriska whistles and looks you up and down. "Nice boxers Vantas." She winks.

Fuck. You forgot you weren't wearing pants. You narrow your eyes at her. "What do you want?"

"Put on some pants Karkles, we're going to party."

"Where?"

"Right here in the commons area." Vriska answers.

"Sounds fun. Having my eyes scooped out with a rusty spoon sounds even more fun."

Vriska rolls her eyes and Terezi laughs. "I managed to get my hands on a few bottles of some pretty decent spiced rum when I was visiting my family last weekend." Vriska says, holding up her bag that clinks slightly.

"Cause we obviously won't get caught out in the open drinking rum."

"It's not like they have security cameras out there. And the night monitors aren't supposed to come by tonight." Vriska puts a hand on her hip and sighs. "It'll be fine. We have a plan. So are you coming or not?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll come by."

"You'd better. It's been too long since I got you all liquored up." Terezi laughs, prodding you with her cane.

"Just make sure you shower and brush your teeth first." Vriska says, waving a hand in front of her nose and laughing.

They retreat down the hall and you close the door harder than is really necessary. You really don't like the sound of their plans but there's a chance they'll distract you enough to forget about your broken heart. You kind of feel gross and, while you're totally not taking Vriska's suggestion, you decide you need a shower before you socialize. You grab your shower things, your towel and a change of clothes before heading to the showers down the hall. Each shower is its own cubicle. You step into the little changing space and slip out of your clothes. It's stupid but for some reason this always makes you feel anxious. If you had a way to lock the entrance you would. You feel too exposed with only a thin curtain hiding you from the world. You reach into the attached shower and flip on the faucet waiting for it to reach a bearable temperature. The hot stream of water relaxes you immensely and for a minute you're able to forget about everything. About Jade, about Dave, about Sollux and Terezi and everything. All you can focus on is the water hitting your body and the soap in your hair.

After your shower you feel a tiny bit better. No longer feeling weighed down with dirt and sweat or the thoughts that were plaguing your mind. You brush your teeth before heading back to your room. Still empty. He must be with that girl again. Maybe they have an exclusive relationship. That would be shocking. Actually that's probably impossible. He likely just favors her right now above the others. Ugh, why are you thinking about him again? Sparing too much of your time thinking about him can't be good for your mental health. You pull out your laptop and flop down on your bed. You check your email, nothing but junk and a few reminders for school events. Pesterchum is set to automatically log you in when your computer turns on and a few windows pop up but you end up ignoring them. It's just Gamzee and Kanaya anyway. They won't be too hurt if you ignore them. You have a paper due on Tuesday but you don't feel like working on it right now. You have two days, plenty of time to write something worthy of a C. Usually you can get sucked into conversations and mindlessly surfing the internet but nothing is working to distract you. You keep seeing Jade kiss him and the smile on her face like there was no where she'd rather be. Fuck Dave. He didn't even look happy to have her in his arms.

Your phone buzzes with a text from Terezi. "H3Y K4RKL3S, W3'R3 ST4RT1NG. G3T DOWN H3R3 OR W3'LL COM3 G3T YOU! H3H3H3". You hadn't realized how much time had passed since they stopped by your room. You look out the window to find that it's already dark outside. There's a distant rumble of thunder but the rain hasn't started yet. You sigh and put your laptop aside. You really aren't up for socializing but you could really use the distraction. You don't want to think about Jade or Dave or how pathetic you are anymore and alcohol is supposed to numb pain right? When you get down to the commons area the usual group is there. John, Vriska, Gamzee, Terezi, Tavros, Kanaya and Kanaya's girlfriend whose name you can't remember. Was it Lily?

You plop down on one of the couches next to John. Vriska is on his other side leaning over the table to pour something into eight glasses. Terezi is on the other couch across from you with Kanaya and…Violet? Gamzee is on the floor next to you leaning against the couch and staring at Tavros whose chair is by Vriska. She passes out the cups and you stare down at the dark liquid. It smells weird but it tastes sweet which is good enough for you. A few cups in you won't really be able to taste it anyway. The conversation picks up but you're barely listening until John is looking at you. There's a light flush on his cheeks from the liquor and he's smiling like an idiot.

"So Karkat, how do you like the robot club?" He asks raising his cup to his lips.

"Is there anyone that doesn't know about that?" You grumble.

"Sure. But my sister told me that you were helping them out."

"Yea well…it's alright I guess. I don't understand more than half of what they're saying though."

"Whenever Jade starts talking about her robo stuff I usually just smile and nod my head until she's done. I don't really get that stuff either."

You wish he'd stop talking about Jade. This was supposed to be distracting you from her but John is just making it worse. You like the guy, he's been your friend since you were a freshman, but right now you kind of just want to hit him if it means he'll shut up. He keeps going though. He starts telling you stories about growing up with Jade and how different they are. You begin downing the drinks Vriska pours for you finding it prevents you from having to contribute much to the conversation and numbs the stab you feel in your chest every time he says her name. You don't even notice when Sollux joins the group and takes an offered drink from Terezi. He's drenched and you realize he was probably caught in the rain. The thunder had gradually gotten louder but you hadn't thought it was raining that hard. He's smiling and talking to Kanaya and…Petunia? Why does it make you so angry to see him talking to them so happily?

"Hey Karkat, buddy, you ok? You're starting to look a little out of it." John says, patting your shoulder.

"Leave him alone John. He's fine." Vriska says as she offers you another cup full. "So tell us Karkles, what's got you so down?"

"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine."

"Of course you are. You've been even more tense than usual and we've all noticed."

"I'm not tense."

"Maybe not right now but definitely when you're sober."

It may just be the alcohol but she actually sounds concerned. That can't be right. Vriska doesn't get concerned about others. All she cares about is herself and getting what she wants. She's a manipulative bitch and you only hang out with her because of Terezi and John. You want to tell her this but even in your intoxicated state you know that's a bad idea.

"He's probably just stressed about school." John says trying to help you out.

"Whatever it is I'm sure it could all be fixed with a good fuck."

You very nearly choke on the gulp of rum in your throat. What is it with her and saying outrageous things like that when you're drinking?

"What the fuck. Will you get off of that?" You ask, wiping the spilled rum from your lips.

"You know it's true. I know you fooled around plenty of times with my girl 'Rezi even if you didn't ever seal the deal. So what's stopping you? Isn't there anyone you like?"

You think for a startling moment that she knows about your crush on Jade. Somehow she always knows things she shouldn't know. You wonder if Terezi knows and told her but you're not really sure she would intentionally make you vulnerable to Vriska's manipulation. She smiles in a way that makes your stomach turn.

"If you're looking for a potential partner I think we both know who you can go to." You follower her line of sight to Sollux.

She loses interest then and goes back to talking to Tavros. You watch him. He's laughing and suddenly it's all you can hear. That stupid obnoxious laugh you have to hear whenever he's talking to Aradia online or he's picking a fight with you. You just want to punch him. Why Vriska thinks you would want to fuck him is beyond your ability to understand. You hate him. He's cocky and selfish and such a fucking slut. Being in the same room as him makes your blood boil until you're sure there's steam coming from your ears. Before you can stop yourself you're crossing the room to where he's sitting. You perch on the arm of the couch next to Terezi and point a finger at Sollux who is sitting in the adjacent chair.

"Do you ever stop flirting with people?" You ask vaguely aware of the slight slur in your voice but you're too gone to care.

"Hello to you too KK." He says with a smirk. "I see you've been drinking your fair share."

"Answer my fucking question."

"I wasn't flirting with anyone. So I guess my answer is yes.

"You gueth?" You mock his lisp and smirk. "Why would anyone be interested in you? You can't even speak correctly."

He raises his eyebrow curiously. He's not angry, which is surprising and uncharacteristic of him. You wobble a bit on your seat and he reaches out to steady you. You slap his hand away.

"How much did they let you drink?" He asks, swiping your cup from your hand and setting in on the table in the middle of the room.

"They didn't let me drink. It was my own choice to drink as much as I did."

"Uh-huh." He doesn't sound convinced in the slightest. "Maybe you're just a lightweight that can't handle his liquor." He smirks and you want to slap him.

You're poised for a witty response when there's a loud clap of thunder and the lights suddenly go out. You startle and practically fall into Kanaya's lap. John turns on his phone's flashlight and shines it so Vriska can put the bottles in her bag to quickly hide the evidence. Kanaya and Marigold gather the cups and rinse them in the sink before hiding them under a pile of paper towels in the trash. You sit dumbfounded like your brain hasn't quite caught up with the situation. A brighter flashlight shines over all of you and when you're no longer blinded you see the face of one of the night monitors. She's older but one of the nicer ones. You're pretty sure she can smell the rum in the room by the look on her face but she doesn't say anything.

"Alright guys, the power was knocked out by the storm. I want you all in your respective dorms. We will be checking on you periodically so don't even try to take advantage of the lack of lights." She says with a small smile and a wink.

"Uh, how am I supposed to get upstairs to my dorm?" Tavros asks, sounding worried. You can't even see where he is.

"Don't worry buddy, we've got'cha." John said grabbing the back of his chair and wheeling him toward the stairs.

"That's fine but head over to the senior building as soon as you're done." The night monitor says before moving back down the hall leaving you in the mostly dark room.

As soon as the light is gone you feel a familiar fear grip you. You haven't really been afraid of the dark since you were a kid but you hadn't been in complete darkness in a long time. Not like this. You don't like not being able to see. You're not sure how Terezi does it 24/7. You feel lost not knowing who or what could be around you, next to you, breathing down your neck. You flinch at your own thoughts and grab hold of the first person you can find and try to stop the shaking in your hands. Their hand snakes around your waist and you're being pulled closer. When John shines his flashlight in your direction you find that the person holding onto you is Sollux. Your first instinct is to pull away but for some reason you don't.

"Come on guys, she said not to take advantage of the dark." John laughs.

"Very funny. I'm not about to let him stumble around in the dark after you guys let him drink so much." He retorts steering you toward the stairs. You think you see him glare at them and his arms tense but you brush it off as your imagination. Why would he care? He's just putting on an act to look like the good guy.

John shrugs but looks a bit guilty. When you stumble John frowns and turns away. The girls go to their dorms, Daisy is on the phone with someone requesting a ride, and you follow the others to the stairs. John scoops Tavros up in his arms and even in the dark you can see the blush that rushes to his cheeks. Gamzee grabs hold of his chair and follows behind them with a look of jealousy. You know he'd do anything to be the one with Tavros in his arms. It was probably better to let John do it though. Odds are Gamzee would either drop him or trip on the stairs and land on him.

Sollux's arm stays around you and you pretend that it's not comforting even though his touch calms you. Stabilizes you. If anything is hiding in the dark it can't pull you out of his grip. Once you're all upstairs John places Tavros in his chair and says goodbye before him and Gamzee head back down. You are steered towards your room but you almost want to tear from his grip and hide away in Gamzee's room until morning. You don't. It's too dark and you can no longer see the retreating back of your friend down the hall. Inside the dorm room you expect to feel better with the open curtains casting light into the room until you realize the usual comforting glow of the moon is missing. The clouds are too thick and too dark for the moon to shine through. So you keep your grip on Sollux's shirt hoping he can't see the fear on your face.

"KK, are you ok?" He asks, looking down at you.

"I'm fine." You had meant to snap but it came out quietly and without the anger you intended.

"If you're fine then let go of my shirt."

"Why is it so dark in here?" You can't stop the words from leaving your lips and immediately kick yourself for it.

"Shit, are you afraid of the dark?"

You look for the humor in his words but can't find it. He actually sounds concerned. "Shut up. It's perfectly normal." This time you do snap.

"You're going to have to let go of me eventually if we plan to sleep. Unless you want to sleep together." You can see the smile and the eyebrow wiggle that follow. You smack his side as hard as you can but he only laughs.

"Do you ever think of anything else?" You back away a bit but keep your hold on his shirt so you know where he is and that's he's still there. As long as you're touching him you know you aren't alone in the room.

"I'm a seventeen-year-old boy. What else do I have to think of?"

"We're the same age and I don't think about…_that _all the time!"

"Not even with Jade?"

"Jesus Christ can we not talk about Jade for five fucking seconds?" You grumble, pushing away from him entirely. Suddenly you'd rather be alone if it meant he was gone. Bringing up Jade was a low blow that he knew would hurt.

"I thought you liked her." God you want to punch him. If you could see him you would.

"So what, she has a boyfriend. It doesn't matter what I feel because she's with Dave. He's better looking than I am, taller than I am, cooler than I am. I can't compete with him!" Anger is welling inside you, in your stomach and chest overflowing out of your mouth in the form of shouted words.

"Maybe you should look for someone else." He says this so nonchalantly like it's the easiest thing in the world to move from one person to another. Only for him. For someone who doesn't care about the people he uses and throws to the side.

"Who else is there? The only other girls I know are Vriska, who I can't stand, Terezi who already dumped me once, Kanaya who's more like a sister and Ivy who I barely know and is a lesbian anyway!"

"Ivy? You mean Rose?"

"Whatever. The point is that no one will ever like me so what's the point of crushing on someone anyway? Who would be stupid enough to want to date me? I sure as fuck wouldn't date me!"

He's silent and you wonder for a minute if he's left. You didn't hear him move or the door open or close but even with your eyes adjusted to the dark you can't see if he's in front of you still. "I don't know. I don't think I'm that stupid." He finally says startling you enough to shake and nearly lose your balance.

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

"You said someone would have to be stupid to date you. I'm not stupid and I'd date you." You don't respond and he snorts and sighs somehow at the same time. "I like you idiot."

"You like everyone." The fight is gone from your voice and is instead replaced with slight confusion and sudden embarrassment.

You can practically hear him frown and furrow his eyebrows. "I don't like everyone. I like you."

You don't know if it's the alcohol, the self-pity, or the way he's looking at you (which you can actually see now with how close he's come) but what you do next leaves you believing that Vriska has gained control of your body. You find yourself grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulling him down until you can crash your lips messily against his. He doesn't move at first and you think you've made a mistake until his fingers are tangled in your hair and he's pulling you tightly against him. This isn't your first kiss. You and Terezi had kissed a few times when you were dating. But kissing her never felt like this. Kissing her was comforting but kissing him is like chugging water when you're dehydrated. Something you needed and your body is thankful to finally have. Something you can't get enough of and can't live without. Your arms drape over his shoulders and you're holding onto the back of his neck holding him in place. You've never been this close to him before tonight so you've never realized just how good he smells. Like warm honey and something else. Something very Sollux. It's filling your nose and making you dizzy.

You're lost in him, in his fingers in your hair and his lips against yours, until you feel his tongue trace over your lips. Your hands slide down to his shoulders and you push him away more quickly than you meant. You're left for a moment wondering why his lips are no longer pressed to yours. His hair is sticking up in the back from where your hands had been and his lips have a slight sheen to them from your combined saliva. Your brain feels sluggish and you can't quite figure out why he looks like this right away until it clicks. Did you really just kiss Sollux? Did you really just like kissing Sollux? _Sollux? _What is wrong with you? You hate him. You loath him. You despise him. But if that's true, why do you feel the need to do it again?

"It's getting late KK and you're drunk. Let's just…go to sleep." He says shocking you out of your surprised and confused state. He's moving toward his bed, his back to you. You stare at the hair sticking up and wonder in amazement because you did that. Your hands grabbing his hair like you couldn't pull his face close enough. You barely remember doing it like they weren't your hands anymore.

You cross over to your bed and collapse onto it without kicking your shoes off or crawling under the covers. Your heart is pounding and you're overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to cry. There's a lump in your throat and your eyes are burning. You close them and rub until the tears are forced away. You don't think about Jade or anyone else. The last thing in your mind before you drop into sleep is the feel of his lips and his hands on you.

You wake with a start when your phone starts ringing loudly directly next to your ear. Springing up in bed you find that you're alone. Again. Your head is pounding, your stomach turning and phone is still ringing noisily so you grab at it and turn off the ringer. It's Dirk. The older brother of the boy you now despise. You grumble to yourself before answering the phone.

"Hello?" You sound a bit angrier than you mean but he doesn't seem to care.

"Hey, where are you?"

"My dorm."

"I need your help with something. Think you can spare a few?"

"Help with what?"

"You'll see when you get here."

"No fucking way Strider, tell me what it is. I'm not leaving the warmth of my bed to help your sorry ass out with something until you tell me what it is."

"It has to do with the club."

"I don't know a damned thing about robots and you know it."

"I'm not asking you to work on the robot. I'm asking you to get your skinny ass down here and help me with something."

"Jesus Christ, fine. Where?"

"My house."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yes. I'll text you directions."

He hangs up before you can say anything more. You let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl and flop back on your bed. It's very possible that your head is actually going to crack open. You drank way too much last night and you curse past you for being so damn stupid and thinking that was a good idea for even a second. You feel like you're going to puke and the last thing you want to do is see the older double of the idiot you hate. Come to think of it if you're going to their house you might end up seeing said idiot.

You sit up and nearly knock over the open water bottle on your side table. You don't remember leaving that there. Next to the bottle are two pills with a note underneath.

"Make 2ure you driink enough water dumba22. II don't want two come home two a dead roommate."

You swallow the pills and chug half of the water before a memory hits you like a train and you very nearly drop the open bottle on your bed. You remember being at the gathering, drinking too much, the lights going out and Sollux...lots of Sollux. He brought you back to the room and...that fucker kissed you. No, you kissed him. Did that really happen? It's all really fuzzy like a dream while everything else is rather clear. Maybe it was a dream. Why would you kiss Sollux? He disgusts you. You'd probably catch at least ten diseases just from kissing him. You decide it was a dream but there's a pit in the bottom of your stomach that insists it wasn't.

You drink the remainder of the water and head over to your closet and trade your clothes from the day before for new fresh clothes and trudge to the bathroom to brush your teeth. You bump into Tavros on the way. He gives you a worried expression and comes to a stop beside you.

"Hey Karkat are you, uh, feeling alright today?" He asks.

"Yea. I'm fine." Your head is still pounding and you can't help wincing at the sudden throb of pain between your eyes.

"You looked pretty sick last night."

"That happens when you drink a whole damn bottle of rum to yourself."

"I don't think you had quite that much...I think Vriska only refilled your glass, um, twice."

No fucking way were you that shit faced from three drinks. You growl and continue toward the bathroom. Your legs feel like they're made out of lead with cinder blocks as feet. You're pretty certain you're going to puke but nothing seems to be coming up. Tavros keeps looking at you as you proceed down the hall. You hold the door open so he can wheel in before you. He mumbles a thanks before leaving you to go to the handicapped shower.

You recoil from your own reflection when you approach one of the sinks. The bags under your eyes are more prominent than they usually are, your hair is sticking up haphazardly and you look paler than normal. You splash some water in your face and rake wet fingers through your short hair until it looks less ridiculous. After you brush your teeth you walk back to your room to drop off your toothbrush. You make sure you have your cellphone before heading out with the directions in hand.

It takes you a while to navigate Dirk's directions. Half the street names you don't recognize and you almost miss your stop and barely escape being closed in the bus doors. When you're finally on their street their house isn't hard to find. It's huge, gaudy and actually says "Strider/Lalonde household" in large gold embossed letters above the front door. You feel embarrassed just approaching the door. You don't want others to see you visiting this house. You ring the bell and it's one of those bells that chimes a little tune. How fucking tacky. Was it possible for the Striders to get any more ridiculous? A minute later the door is opening and Dirk is standing on the other side. His face is stoic, passive, and his pointy shades are gone. His eyes are a startling orange color. Must be contacts.

"Hey." He nods his head at you and steps aside so you can enter.

"What the hell do you need me so badly for? It had better be pretty fucking important or heads are going to roll. I feel like shit."

"Yea, we heard you got wasted on a little rum."

"It was more than a little!" Your own voice hurts your head.

"Everyone is in here." He leads you into a large white room with an overly stuffed L shaped couch placed in front of the biggest flat screen you've ever seen. "Everyone" is Jake, Equius, Kanaya, Rose, Vriska, Terezi and Jade. You inwardly groan. You hadn't wanted to see her.

"Hi Karkat!" She says. You wave halfheartedly in response.

"Good morning Karkat." Kanaya says as you move to sit beside her. "You look tired."

"No shit." You grumble. "What the hell am I here for?"

"John's birthday is coming up and we need your help planning a party." Jade smiles inadvertently stabbing you in the chest.

"What the fuck does that have to do with the club?"

"That was a lie. Needed to get you here." Dirk says like it's no big deal.

"His birthday is like two weeks away. This is bullshit. You had to choose today?"

"Don't get your pretty pink panties in a twist. You're the only one to blame for the hangover." Vriska isn't even looking at you finding her nails far more interesting.

"Like hell! You're the one trying to get me drunk enough to fuck Sollux!"

Well shit. You weren't supposed to say that. Past you from two seconds ago is the biggest fucking moron of them all. All eyes are on you, Terezi is laughing, but you're staring at Vriska. She grins and finally looks up at you.

"How did that go?"

"Fuck you." You mumble and break eye contact. "Let's just talk about the fucking party."

There's no way you're going to slip and tell them that you may have kissed Sollux. Or at least kissed him in a dream. Why give her the satisfaction? There was no need to let her know her plan may, or may not, have worked. You pretend you don't feel her eyes burning holes into the side of your head and pretend that nothing happened last night. Which it may not have. One thing's for sure, you really fucking hate not being able to remember what did and didn't happen. There's really only one option and that is to ask Sollux the next time you see him.

"Well, um," Jade's cheeks are a light shade of pink. "This is John's eighteenth birthday so I'd like to make it special. Any ideas?"

"Booze." Vriska blurted out before anyone else could speak.

"Seconded." Dirk says, raising his hand slightly.

"I'm sure we can provide that." Rose says, gesturing to the large and overflowing liquor cabinet.

"We need a venue. The dorms are too small." You can't help noticing the cute way Jade puts her finger to her chin and puffs out her cheeks when she's thinking.

"We can do it here." Dirk says.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yea. It's big enough and our mom won't care."

"Great! Now, his birthday is a Thursday so we should probably have it the following Saturday."

"Sounds good." Vriska says, back to picking her chipped nail polish.

"We also need to make up a guest list."

Rose pulls out a notebook you hadn't seen before and poises her pen on the paper. She writes down the names of everyone in the room in neat script followed by the names of his other friends. By the time the list is completed there are at least fifty names written down. You don't know more than half of the people on the list. John is supposed to be your best friend but you have no idea who else he hangs out with. Who the hell is Eridan? You don't speak much during the rest of the planning. They decide that John and Jade's parents will pay for most of it but at least two people need to be responsible for the shopping. Vriska volunteers you and Rose says she will help. They all agree before you can object.

Your headache subsides for the most part. Rose exchanges phone numbers with you so she can get in touch with you for the shopping trip. Jade and Vriska will be making a list of everything you need to pick up. At least you've got at least a week before you have to do anything. You catch a ride with Kanaya back to the school. As soon as you're trapped in the car with the girls Vriska starts asking questions again.

"So are you going to tell us what happened or do I have to beat it out of you?" She asks, twisting in the passenger's seat to grin at you.

"Nothing happened!" You think. "He drug me back to the room and I passed out face first in my pillows. That's it. End of story."

"Really? Cause Tav says he heard you two yelling all the way down the hall in his room."

Yelling? You don't remember yelling at him. "He's wrong."

"Vriska, perhaps you should leave him alone now. He doesn't look well and if says nothing happened then we should take his word for it unless he chooses to tell us otherwise." Kanaya says without taking her eyes from the road.

Vriska pouts and actually says "hmph" before turning back around in her seat, slumping down and crossing her arms like a child. You don't think you've ever seen her yield so quickly. You turn to look out the window and try to remember what happened. You really don't remember yelling at him but if you did it could have been for any number of reasons. You two fight all the time. The neighbors were used to hearing you two yelling at each other late at night and early in the morning. What's bugging you the most is not knowing if you actually kissed him or not. Why would you? Even drunk you still hate him so why would you willingly put your lips on him? It doesn't make any sense no matter how you look at it. Especially if you'd been arguing. Maybe he had kissed you and you yelled at him? The guy may be a major dick but you don't think he'd take advantage of you and kiss you while you were drunk.

Kanaya pulls up to the school and you immediately get out of the car before Vriska can attack you again. Part of you wants to get away from her while the other part wants to talk to Sollux about what happened. You pass John on the way and he asks where everyone has been. You lie and say you hadn't seen anyone and continue to the junior dorms. You're nearly running by the time you reach the entrance taking two stairs at a time. You can hear the tapping of keys on the other side of the door when you reach your room. Good. He's back.

You try to calm yourself before opening the door and walking in. He has his headphones in and barely turns to look at you when the door closes. You stand awkwardly on your side of the room unsure of how to approach him. How do you even ask something like this? You can't just come straight out and ask but at the same time what else are you expected to do?

You clear your throat but he either doesn't hear or doesn't notice. "Sollux." You say. Still no response. "Sollux." this time you're louder and his fingers still on his keys.

He removed his headphones, you can hear music blaring out of them, and swivels around in his chair to look at you. "Yea?"

"I wanted to...ask you something." You can practically feel your cheeks heating and you suddenly feel incredibly awkward and uncomfortable.

"What is it? I'm busy and need to get back to this."

"Last night..." You pause and he raises his eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you're afraid of the dark." He smirks and that nervousness you were feeling is suddenly replaced by anger.

"That's not what I was going to say! How the fuck did you even...never mind that doesn't matter. I just need to know did I...did we kiss last night?"

His eyes widen behind his glasses and for a second you're terrified until he laughs. "What are you talking about? You must have been dreaming."

"Jesus...thank fuck." You sigh out, slumping down on the edge of your bed.

"What other kinds of dreams do you have about me?" He asks suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Fuck you. It wasn't a dream it was a nightmare and it sure as fuck won't happen again."

"Whatever you say KK." He turns back to his computer and replaces his headphones.

You feel much better now knowing that it was a dream. Even though there's still that part of your brain that's nagging you and telling you it wasn't a dream. But that's ridiculous. If you had actually kissed him he would probably be gloating about it. He wouldn't lie and say it was a dream. What would he have to gain from that? It didn't happen and that's all that matters. It's time to move on and forget it ever happened. The end. Now, there's still a paper that needs to be done so you set yourself up at your desk with your laptop and start on it completely forgetting about the idiot on the other side of the room.

_Dang this chapter was fun to write. It's also the longest so far. I've always liked the idea of Kanaya and Vriska being in a pale relationship which is my excuse for why she left Karkat alone so easily. The fourth chapter is practically written already so it shouldn't take nearly as long for it to update again. Thanks for all the views, comments, kudos, bookmarks and follows._


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm really anxious about posting this chapter and I don't know why. I didn't have anyone proofread this so please let me know if you find any typos. I'm pretty sure I got them all but who knows_

Chapter Four

Monday and Tuesday are uneventful for the most part. Sollux has been there when you wake up and when you come back every day. You wonder if his girlfriend broke up with him. There's always the chance that the project he's been obsessively working on is more important to him than getting laid. If there is one thing he loves more than sex it's his computers. You remember the time you bumped his desk and jiggled his mouse a bit when he was working on a project. He'd gone off on you like a lit firecracker of rage. Then again he'd also been pretty tired from lack of sleep at the time. Most of the time he's somewhat bearable as a roommate. When you aren't arguing everything is peaceful. You sit at your desk, him at his, mutual clacking of keys filling the otherwise silent room. He never bothers you when you're doing homework either. He's better at math and science than you so sometimes he'll lend you his notes to look over. That's the closest to studying together you've ever come. Now, with this chemistry test days away and no hope in site of scoring higher than a D minus, you decide to enlist his help. With the ongoing peace between you two for the last few days you start thinking that now is as good a time as any to maybe attempt something close to friendship. That doesn't mean you won't still argue with him but you've noticed the desire to rip his face off has almost completely dispersed. It's not like you'll be all buddy, buddy with him but a mutual tolerance would be nice.

You swivel around in your chair and clear your throat. His fingers still for only a moment before he's tapping away again but he acknowledges you with a quiet "hmmm?"

"That test in chemistry coming up…did you study for it?" You try to sound friendly but end up sounding like you're in physical pain from having to talk to him.

"My notes are in my bag." He brushes you off, which almost makes you angry but you swallow the ball of rage back down. You don't want to fight with him right now.

"I don't want your notes. I was just wondering if you would…" you have to force the words out of your mouth, your tongue shriveling at the bitter taste they leave behind. "…help me study."

His hands abruptly stop and you can see his shoulders and back tense. It takes a moment before he relaxes completely and snorts. "Ready to admit that I'm smarter than you?" He finally turns to face you with a smug look and arms crossed.

"You're not smarter than me! You just get all this chemistry bullshit better than I do!"

"Chemistry, math, computers, engineering, basic social skills."

"Never mind. I'll study on my own." You snap spinning back to face your desk and books. So much for not fighting. You try to be nice to him, talk with him civilly, and he goes out of his way to piss you off. It's always been like this since day one, part of the reason you can't stand him.

You can hear him shuffling and a second later he's wheeling his chair over next to you and looking over your shoulder at your notes. "That answer is wrong." He points a long slender finger to one of the questions that had bothered you enough to google the answer. Why you thought it was a good idea to trust Wikipedia still baffles you. Past you usually seems to be pretty stupid and naïve.

"Fuck…" You curse under your breath erasing the answer and flipping through your text book for the correct one.

"Don't you pay attention in class?"

"I try! It's boring as hell. How am I supposed to listen when all of the words start to run together?"

"Then why not read the textbook?"

"Who reads the textbook?"

"I do. So does anyone else who wants to pass. They don't assign reading for nothing you know."

"They give us too much fucking work. How am I supposed to do all of it and read fifty pages while taking notes?"

"You just don't manage your time well."

"Bullshit. After class I come right back here to study and do my homework. Then go to sleep only to wake with another day of useless knowledge and more assignments in front of me."

He's silent and when you glance at him you find him staring at you and smiling in a way that sort of creeps you out. You quickly advert your eyes back to the textbook and fumble with your pencil. "Not everyone can register and spew out information like a computer." You grumble. You want to look to see if he's still staring at you but at the same time you'd rather not know.

"Ok fine, so you don't have enough time to study everything. I have pretty decent grades in all my classes so just ask me for help. I'm not going to turn you down and make you feel stupid."

He's right. That's not why you can't stand him. Truth be told he's a nice guy that's friendly and helpful and everyone seems to like him. He just disgusts you. At first you thought you'd be close friends since you were rooming together but his constant partners kept you away and eventually you came to detest him for it. Even with all of the arguing you two do you don't think you would have hated him had he been different. If you could have come home to a room free of half-naked girls and guys or hadn't had to worry about where you would sleep if they stayed too late. Things definitely would have been better between you two. That's why you're trying again now. There haven't been nearly as many people in your room for almost a week. In fact he'd done all of his "business" away from your dorm. You don't have to worry about what you're coming back to after a tiring day of school and socializing. If things continue like this dare you say you might actually start to like him?

He tells you the answers that are wrong on your homework, tells you why they're wrong and gives you the correct answer. Sometimes he makes you figure out the right answer on your own after giving you a few hints. You hate to admit that's he's incredibly helpful and by the time your homework is done you feel less worried about the test. He wheels back over to his desk and you check the time on your phone. Nearly five. You're supposed to meet in the library for more work on the history project and then you're all going off campus for dinner at John's request. You stand and pack your things into your bag before slinging it over your shoulder. You look at him. He has his back to you and is back to clacking away at his keyboard.

"Sollux…"

"Hmmm?"

"…thanks."

You can see the corner of his mouth rise into a smirk from the side. "No problem."

You hesitate, unsure if you really want to extend an invitation to him just yet. What if you're wrong and you won't be able to get along? The only way to really know is to dive in and try. You suck in a deep breath. "Around six we're all going out to get dinner off campus." You speak a little too quickly but he seems to understand.

"Yea?"

"Do you…want to go with us?"

He turns to you and raises a questioning eyebrow. "Are you going to run out and leave me with the bill when I take a bathroom break?"

"I'm not trying to fucking prank you dipshit. I just thought you'd like to come with us." Why does he have to do that? You're trying to be nice and he says something stupid that gets you angry.

"Yea I'll come."

"Fine. Great. Whatever. We're meeting by the parking lot. Don't be late or we're leaving you."

He mumbles something you don't quite catch as the door closes behind you but you're sure it's a promise that he'll be on time.

An hour later your forehead has become very closely acquainted with the table in the library. Kanaya and Terezi are packing up their books next to you and discussing plans to finish the project in the next few days. You hate history. There are too many dates, events, and names to remember. Your part of the project was relatively small compared to the girls but it's still enough to have your head throbbing.

"Come on Karkat, we'll be done soon. Let's go and enjoy ourselves with our friends and forget all about this project." Kanaya reassuringly pats your shoulder.

You look up at her to see the small smile set on her painted lips and sigh while unsticking your face from the table. You really could use some fun that didn't end in a confusing dream about your roommate and a terrible headache. Kanaya links her arm with yours as she leads you outside. You typically don't like to be touched but with Kanaya it's different. She's been your friend since you were very young. You can't even really remember meeting her. She's just always been there. You started viewing her as a sister sometime in elementary school though you sometimes joked she's more like a mother. She's the one person you can never really get mad at and who never takes your angry words seriously. She used to scare off your bullies when you were a kid, and there were a lot of them. There was a time when you were thirteen when you two didn't talk as often as you used to. She'd become obsessed with vampires and it was all she would talk about. Wondering if they were real, wanting to be one, and thinking she was one. She asked once if she could try biting your neck and you'd called her freaky and avoided her for a month. Kanaya apologized for the way she'd been acting and you apologized for calling her names. Your friendship was patched up and had been perfect ever since.

You lean a little into her side while you walk toward the parking lot. It's not far from the library, closer to the dorms. The student parking lot wasn't that big but not many students had their own cars anyway. During classes when the day students were on campus it became more difficult to find spots but in the evening like this it was mostly empty. Of course students in the dorms have assigned spots since day students have the option of taking the bus to class and leaving their cars at home. John, Tavros, Vriska and Jade are already waiting by the cars. You can't help noticing the way Tavros is staring at John again. You're just glad Gamzee isn't around to see it this time. Every time he notices you see his dopy grin drop into a miserable frown. Gamzee doesn't fall for others very easily. The fact that he likes Tav so much means something and it kind of pisses you off that he's brushed off and ignored so easily. You like Tavros and all but if he continues to hurt your best bro you're going to have to say something to him.

"Hey." John says, waving the three of you over. "We're still waiting on Gamzee, he says he'll be down in a sec."

You nod and your eyes are instantly on Jade. She's smiling at you.

"Hi Karkat!" She beamed. Ugh, why does she have to be so cute?

"Hey." You mumble back.

"I feel like I haven't seen you around as often. Have you been busy?"

"Yea, sort of." Actually you were avoiding her. Seeing her just reminded you that she was taken and would never go out with you. "I've had a lot of homework."

"Me too. The teachers probably just want to load us up with enough information so we won't forget anything over break."

"Yea. Probably."

There's a moment of somewhat awkward silence between you. Awkward for you at least. She's still smiling.

"I convinced Nepeta to join us tonight too! She's really excited to see everyone."

You inwardly groan. Nepeta is Jade's friend that has had an obvious crush on you since you'd met her a few years back. She stares at you whenever you're in the same room and it makes you uncomfortable. It's not that she isn't cute, she's just too energetic and a little weird. She gives off this sweet innocent vibe but then you find out she goes hunting every weekend with her family. While hunting is a common thing that many people do it becomes strange when guns are replaced with claw like appendages that slip on attached to gloves. She often talks about her family being like cats, lions to be exact, and the thrill of the stalk, pounce and kill is exhilarating. It just creeps you out.

Jade becomes distracted by Tavros and you wander away from them. You lean against the back of John's car and chat with him idly. He worries too much and you're usually his favorite target. Most of the time he's all jokes and pranks but when he wants to he can turn into this big softy. You jokes sometimes that you two are like the leaders of the group. If not for you becoming friends with him he probably wouldn't know Vriska. Then again you wouldn't know Jade so maybe that wouldn't have been too bad. But he is one of your best friends and life without him would surely be boring and uneventful.

He gives you this concerned look, furrowed eyebrows, big blue eyes, lips in a thin smile and head tilted slightly to the side. You can practically feel the questions coming your way.

"You look tired Karkat, are you getting enough sleep?" This is one he always asks though it doesn't always come first.

"I'm fine Egbert. Can we not do this tonight?"

"Do what?"

"Play twenty questions that I won't answer satisfyingly enough so you end up putting me in a headlock, messing up my hair and inevitably pulling some stupid prank on me to cheer me up."

He cracks a toothy grin, bucked teeth poking out over his bottom lip, and laughs. "Ah come on, it's not like that."

"Like hell it's not."

He leans against his car next to you and bumps his shoulder against yours. "You just never seem very happy. I can hardly get you to smile anymore."

"I'm not unhappy I'm just…"

"Just the normal grumpy Karkat?"

"Exactly."

He stays beside you, shoulders touching, but moves on to talking to Vriska. He's probably the only person you can sit in my complete silence with for hours without it getting uncomfortable. On more than one occasion you'd forgotten he was even there. You hear a high pitched voice that sounds almost like a purr and know that Nepeta has arrived. You sigh as you glance out of the corner of your eye and find her staring at you already. She looks ready to pounce when you see Gamzee approaching and move toward him. She doesn't like Gamzee. He scares her or something. He's become Nepeta repellent over the last few years. He smiles and tells you that he almost forgot about dinner. That doesn't surprise you at all.

"Alright, looks like everyone is here. Let's split into cars and go. I'm starving." John says, heading to the door of his car, Vriska going to the passenger's side.

You stand on your toes and look around the parking lot. You don't see him. For some reason you're really anxious that he won't come. It's not that big of a deal if he doesn't. It's not like you really want him to. You were just being nice when you asked him. It's his loss if he doesn't want to spend time with people without getting into their pants. You'll probably have more fun without him. Still, you look around and are doing one last sweep of the parking lot with your eyes when you feel Kanaya's hand on your back.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"Nothing. Just…making sure everyone is here."

"If you don't hurry now you'll have to fight Terezi for the front seat." She smiles and walks toward her car.

"Hey Karkat, what are you waiting for?" John asks, leaning halfway out his window.

"Nothing." You sigh. You definitely don't feel disappointed. You're…annoyed. Not even annoyed really. What does it matter if he goes out with you? Out with everyone.

You grab hold of Gamzee's arm and point him in the direction of Kanaya's car. He's been standing next you staring at you with a goofy grin. You think he's waiting for you but odds are he just doesn't know where to go. Your hand in the on the door handle and you hesitate. Kanaya hasn't gotten in yet and she looks questioningly at you over the top of the car. You shake your head and pull the door open but stop again when you hear John's voice.

"Sollux, hey! What are you doing here?" He asks.

"KK invited me."

There's a sudden silence all around you and you can't tell if you're imagining it or not.

"_Karkat_ invited you?"

"Why? Something wrong?"

"Uh, no I guess not. You can ride in my car if you want."

"Nah, I'd rather take my own."

You didn't even know he had a car. Maybe that's why he disappears during the day all the time. If you had a car you'd probably spend the weekends at home. It was too far to take the bus and a cab would be too expensive. You could always ask your brother to pick you up but you'd rather not be stuck in the car with him for three hours. He'd ask invasive questions about your life and make you feel bad when you'd inevitably get angry at him. He's pretty sensitive and is always concerned about others feelings. It can get to be annoying.

"You shouldn't ride alone." Vriska fakes a caring voice before her face splits into a grin and she hops out of John's car and over to you. She pulls at your arm, her grip like iron and her nails digging into your bicep. She kicks the Kanaya's car door closed and drags you over to Sollux. "Karkat invited you, he can ride with you."

You look back at Kanaya but she only shrugs and climbs into her car. Vriska winks at you and dashes back over to John's truck. You sigh and follow Sollux to an old looking car painted the color of mustard. You expect to see rusted patches but the paint job actually looks fairly new. One of the mirrors is scratched, the side slightly dented like he'd hit something with it. At least it wasn't hanging off the side or held on by tape. When you try, and fail, to open the passenger's side door several times he comes around and yanks it open.

"It sticks. You have to jiggle, lift and tug." He explains.

You could be in the backseat of Kanaya's nice, clean car with functioning doors right now. Fuck Vriska. There's duct tape on the seat hiding a rip in the upholstery. You sit and hope that your butt doesn't stick to it. He closes your door, lifting and throwing his shoulder against it, before coming around to get in the driver's seat. When he puts the key in the ignition you expect it to take several tries but with one turn it hums to life. The car shakes a little but not alarmingly so. More…comforting you guess. Despite the obvious age of the car it could be a lot worse. He pulls out of the lot following John's truck down the road and you inspect what you can see of the interior in the limited light. There's a crack in the dashboard, one of the vents is being help open by a broken chopstick, and there's a honey scented air freshener clip by the radio. So that's why he smells like honey. Or…wait. How do you know he smells like honey?

You shake the thought away when you catch him glancing at you from the corner of his eye while at a stoplight. You only notice now how tense you are. You force yourself to relax against the seat and chew on the inside of the cheek. Ignoring him is difficult. You feel like you should say something to him but what? You two rarely talk how are you supposed to know what to say now? You wonder if he feels as awkward as you do. You wish he would turn on music or something so it wasn't so quiet. The drive to the diner isn't that far but it feels like an eternity.

"You look like you're going to puke." He says, startling you enough for your head to snap in his direction.

"Never get sick of your compliments." You snarl.

He smiles. "I wasn't making fun of you dumbass. You actually look like you might be sick."

"I'm fine."

He's still smiling when you look away and focus your stare out the window.

"Why did you invite me?"

You purse your lips and think before you answer. "Because we're roommates."

"We've been roommates for nearly half a year and you've never invited me out."

"You were always busy with one of your project or one of your…" You trail off. You don't want to pick a fight over that right now.

"So if I'd been available before you would have asked me out with you guys?"

No. You wouldn't have. "I just thought we could try being nicer to each other! Is that so fucking hard to believe? We do have to live with each other for the rest of the year."

He's silent and you mentally kick past you from ten seconds ago. Why can't you ever keep your mouth shut? You say the stupidest things. Half the time you hop around on one foot because the other is shoved in your mouth.

"Think you can do it?" He asks.

"I can if you can."

He laughs. A real laugh. Not a snort or a chuckle. "You're on."

You turn your face completely away from him and can't help the small smile that tugs at your lips. The rest of the ride is quiet. He has to help you out of the car when the door refuses to cooperate again.

"You're supposed to jiggle it." He says as you walk toward the group.

"I was! Your car is a piece of junk."

You ignore the looks you get from your friends and follow them inside. It's not too crowded yet so you're able to snag two tables. You end up at a table with John, Vriska, Terezi, Sollux and Kanaya. The booths are slightly larger than what you'd find in most diners. Three people can sit comfortably on either side. It's possible to squeeze a fourth but not without cramming together. You're somewhat squished between Sollux and Kanaya on one side while John is with Vriska and Terezi on the other. You can see Gamzee at the table across from you. He's sitting on one side next to Tavros on the end and Jade and Nepeta sit across from him. Nepeta keeps looking up at him and scrunching her brows together. She's practically mushed herself into the wall to get space between them. He doesn't even notice she's there.

"The others should be here shortly." John says, sipping at his water and bring your attention back to the people at your table.

"Others?" You ask.

"We invited Rose, Dave and Dirk. I think Jake is coming to."

Great. Just great. You were already wary about hanging out with Jade and now her stupid boyfriend is going to be showing up too. The universe just loves to fuck with you. You stare down at the menu but your appetite has flown out the window. When they arrive you can see Dave sit beside Jade and the way her face lights up sends a dagger straight into your heart. Gamzee moves to allow Dirk and Jake to slide in beside him. Rose takes the space next to Kanaya and the three of you squish closer together to make room. You're suddenly very aware of Sollux's side pressed against yours. He's warm and he does smell like honey. You still don't know how you knew that. It's not like you go around smelling the guy or his belongings.

Your arms keep bumping so he throws his behind you on the back of the seat. There is nothing more interesting than the menu in front of your face right now. You aren't thinking about the body next to you or the arm behind you. And you definitely don't flinch when his arm slides down until it's practically over your shoulders. John is talking to Kanaya and you glance up at him only to see Vriska smile at you. You don't like the way she's staring. Her eyes are implying things that aren't true and are making you flustered.

Your attention is elsewhere again when you hear laughter from the other table and look over in time to see Jade kiss Dave. Your heart sinks to your stomach and now his arm is around you, his hand squeezing your shoulder in what you can only assume to be comfort. He's one of the few people who really knows about your feelings for Jade. Though you're still not sure how he found out. You ignore Vriska and allow him to keep his arm around your shoulders until he decides to move it. You all order, your waitress seems a little annoyed that nearly everyone requests their own ticket, and conversations pick up again while you wait.

"What are you planning to get me for my birthday?" John is asking Vriska.

"The same thing I got you last year."

A goofy grin spreads across his face and his cheeks flush a light pink. "Best gift ever." He says and she laughs.

It amazes you how different she can be around John. You had been against them dating at first. John is your best friend and Vriska is…well…kind of evil in a way. But she's nice to him, makes him happy, and makes him smile. True his pranks have grown to be a bit more destructive because of her but their relationship is the only one that really makes any sense. When the food arrives you use it as an excuse not to talk. You keep glancing over at Jade even though you're trying not to. She looks so happy. She might as well be ripping your heart out and giving it to Dave as a gift. You're grateful when the food arrives. It gives you something to do so you don't have to talk or look up from your plate.

"So Karkat." Rose says after you're all done eating. "It has come to my attention that you are very close to Kanaya but I hardly know you at all. I believe we should remedy the situation immediately."

"I'm not sure why you'd want to get to know me after all of the horror stories I'm sure Kanaya has told you."

"Rose is very skilled when it comes to reading people and their true desires that they themselves may not know exist. I think talking with her could do you a great deal of good." Kanaya sounds proud and you notice their fingers lace together between them. "She also allows for each individual to make an impression themselves rather than be influence by the stories of others. Even if they do give details about that persons stuffed crab that he slept with until he was fifteen."

Your face heats up and John laughs. "You slept with a stuffed animal when you were fifteen?"

"Shut you're fucking face I didn't sleep with him. _It_. I used it as a pillow." You snarl trying to will the blush away.

The conversation thankfully turns away from you and you hardly notice Jade again until you're all leaving. She has her arm around Dave's waist and is leaning her head against his shoulder as they walk toward the door. Why can't that be you? He doesn't even seem like he cares that he has such a wonderful girl clinging to his side. Outside you stop to talk with Rose and Kanaya though you're barely listening to what they're saying.

"Karkat, I hope to see you soon. If we're unable to meet before the shopping trip feel free to ask Kanaya for my chat handle." You nod and she turns to look at the others. "Come along Dave, Dirk I'd like to get home where it's warm."

You almost forgot they were siblings. It should be obvious with that pale blonde hair. Jade follows Dave over but she's looking at you.

"One more day until the next meeting! I'm really excited. Dirk, Jake and I have done more work on the robot. We're going to test it out at the meeting." She grins, excitement written all over her face.

"Sound fun." You say but you don't sound convincing. Dave is staring at you. You think. What is it with Striders and sunglasses?

"Oh Dave, you remember Karkat right? He's helping us out with the club." Jade's smile immediately slackens and you wonder why. It's usually difficult to make her unhappy.

"Yea. You must not have a lot of friends if you can spare your Friday nights at a club you don't even care about." His voice is flat but you can feel the bitter resentment that lace his words.

You glare at him. What a fucking prick. "I joined the club to help Jade. She's your girlfriend. Why the hell aren't you a member?"

His blank look cracks for a minute and with the twitch of his lips you can tell he's probably glaring behind those gaudy glasses. Jade is looking anxiously between the two of you her smile complete gone now. You wonder why she's not saying anything. Jade never backs down from conflict. You're locked in a stare down with your own reflection in his god-awful shades when hands come down on your shoulders and drag you backward. You stumble until your back is against the person's chest. You look up to see Sollux, his eyes are focused on you and his eyebrows are drawn together.

"Let's go before you get into any trouble." He says with a little smile.

You shake his hands off of your shoulders and practically stomp over to his car. You wait for him to open the door and nearly dive into the seat. You clench your jaw and your hands roll into fists. Man you fucking hate Dave. What a dick. How dare he criticize you? You were helping out his girlfriend so he didn't have to and you still got shit for it. When Sollux gets in he doesn't turn on the car right away. His hands are gripping the steering wheel and he's staring out the windshield.

"What a douche." He says, knocking the pissed off look right off your face and replacing it with shock.

"Who? Dave?"

"Yes Dave. Who the fuck does he think he is talking to you like that?"

All of the anger is drained from your body and instead you feel conflicted. Why is he pissed at Dave? You thought he would be telling you to calm down and get over it by now. The more you think you know Sollux the more layers he sheds to reveal a different part of him. Feeling anxious and unsure of your movements you reach out and put your hand on his arm. He quickly moves to look at you and you can actually see the anger melt away as his features relax.

"Yea he's a douche but you don't have to get so worked up about it. It doesn't matter what he thinks. I just don't understand what Jade sees in him." You grimace at the thought and pull your hand away from him. He relaxes, his knuckles no longer white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly.

"You still really like her, huh?"

"Have you seen her?" You practically laugh at how pathetic you are. Of course you'd fall for the girl that was taken.

Sollux finally starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot. Everyone else has already left. The car ride is silent this time but not uncomfortably so like it had been before. You keep your focus on the passing scenery beyond your window and he clicks on the radio. Some top 10 pop song is playing quietly. You find yourself not thinking about Jade but about Sollux. Maybe a friendship with him would work out. You haven't really argued all night and he got angry on your behalf. That has to be mean something right? The walk from the parking lot is quiet and you wait while he unlocks the door. You grab your shower things and head down to the bathroom. You need to relax and wash away the aggravation and confusion of the night. When you come back the room is empty.

Your name is Sollux Captor and you have no idea what to do with yourself. You find yourself alone in your dorm room staring at the wall. Your roommate went to the showers at the end of the hall mumbling that he'd be back soon. Everything is playing back in your mind like the cheaply made movie. You study every part, each movement, every word, the scenery around you. You tend to over analyze things, which can be helpful sometimes but is mostly a curse.

You moved into the dorm at the beginning of the year, about four months ago give or take, and had been planning to completely ignore your roommate. You don't like people and new people are the worst. You'd tried to get a single but there was only one left in the junior dorms and it was snagged by Tavros who needed it more than you did. So you were forced to have a roommate and share a tiny space with someone you were sure you'd inevitably hate. Day one you'd given introductions. He'd said he name was Karkat Vantas and he griped when you called him KK the first few times. You spent a lot of time hiding in your friend's dorm or in the library with Aradia and Feferi. You wanted to spend as little time with Karkat as possible.

After about a week of silence he started complaining about the computers and wires all around the room and you'd gotten into an argument. You discovered that he's easy to annoy and after a few more minor fights you also discovered that you love annoying him. He turns into this little ball of rage that's loud, squinty with flailing arms. Instead of getting angry with him you started finding is amusing. Preventing small smiles and smirks was too difficult so you started letting them slip only to find that it pissed him off even more so. You've always hated arguing so you couldn't figure out why you enjoyed unleashing his wrath so often until one day it hit you. He's unbearably cute when he's yelling. His cheeks turn a bright shade of red, his eyes open wide and he starts to spew nonsense. It's fucking adorable.

You'd never had a crush like this before so you went to Aradia and Feferi for advice. They had told you to try being nicer to him but every time you tried he'd suspect you of screwing with him and would end up getting mad. You'd dug yourself into a hole indulging in your obsession with his angry face. He didn't trust you and worse, he didn't like you. It was around this time you met her. The queen of hacking and mixing drinks. She'd told you that you needed to make yourself appealing to him while also making him jealous. How do you do this? By making him believe you're a sex god that everyone wants.

The girls began coming to your dorm after classes and you'd strip down to your underwear and wait until he came back. By this point you'd been roommates for a little over a month. He began to get angry with you for different reasons. He would complain about all of your sex partners leaving garments in the room and always hanging around so he couldn't just come back and relax after class. When he'd made a comment about your obsession with girls they'd enlisted a sophomore named Eridan. You couldn't stand the kid but you needed Karkat to believe you liked boys. It only drove him farther away. He began staying away from the dorm at night so you'd see him even less.

Feeling discouraged you'd met with your friends on campus and moped that their plan had backfired. You spoke a little too loudly of your actions and someone over heard. Someone who was friends with Karkat. Vriska was intrigued by the girls' plan and wanted in. Apparently he had dated her best friend Terezi but they hadn't worked out because he wanted her all to himself but wouldn't let their relationship escalate. Any time she would try to advance their relationship he would back off or runaway. Vriska was under the impression that he needed "a good fuck" (her words) and he'd loosen up, be less tense and uptight all the time. So she began planting ideas in his head, making him look at you not as a nuisance but as a possible partner. She also lied about your skills saying she'd slept with you before John but by the time you knew her they were already together. Vriska Serket is a lot of things but she's not a cheater.

Things stayed pretty much the same but the girls pressed you to keep it up promising you it would work. Vriska claimed he had a hint of jealousy in his voice when he complained to them about your "partners". But whether or not that jealousy was for them or you was still a mystery. You'd found out about his crush on Jade close to a month ago. It was obvious to anyone with eyes, or without seeing as Terezi knew as well, that he had a thing for her. His face would go bright red when she looked at him, his eyes never left her when she was in the room, and he rambled nervously when she spoke to him. They were already close because she's John's half-sister so you thought it was only a matter of time before they were together. Until you got a helpful piece of information from your dear friend. Her younger brother, Dave, had been dating Jade since the start of the term. She was head of heels for the boy meaning Karkat would remain single.

You'd heard that he joined the robotics club to help Jade the morning of his first meeting. You were expecting him to come back happy and smiling but instead he came back looking like he'd seen a ghost. In that moment you saw a chance to move in closer to him. Make him see you as a good guy, not just a jerk who pisses him off and fucks everything with a beating heart. He'd confided in you about Jade and you tried to cheer him up to no avail. It seemed he was going to be hung up on her for a while and you had to distract yourself before you spilled everything right then.

You spent the next morning with your head in Aradia's lap telling them of your woes when Vriska proposed a plan. She refused to tell you the details, only that you needed to show up in the commons of the junior building at seven. Not a second earlier. You warily agreed reminding yourself that she was on your side and you got the feeling Vriska's team was always the winning team. Even now you aren't completely sure why she wants to help you so much. Maybe because of John and Karkat's friendship. Or maybe she just really cares about the little ball of rage and won't admit to it. She has a kinder heart than she's willing to show. You suspect John knows.

It had started raining while you were hiding out and by the time you got to the building you were soaked to the bone and freezing. As promised they were all gathered in the commons area. The room smelled of rum and Vriska motioned with her eyes for you to sit in the chair by Terezi. So you followed instructions and waited while talking to Kanaya about her families annual summer vacation in Paris. Rose would be going with them this year and gushed about how excited she was. A few moments later your conversation was interrupted by a very drunk Karkat. The lights went out and you were left wondering if that was somehow part of Vriska's plan. She couldn't have known the weather would knock out the power, right? Either way you ended up with a trembling Karkat clinging to your side so you couldn't complain.

You planned to take him back to the room and put him to bed but what followed was beyond your expectations. You discovered he's afraid of the dark, which is adorable and explains why he was attached to your shirt. You tried to joke with him, lighten him up, but it backfired and turned into an argument and you may have confessed to liking him. You thought he'd swear, hit you, yell but he didn't. He'd kissed you and at first you weren't going to do anything about it because he was drunk and probably didn't know what he was doing. But the next thing you knew your hands were in his hair and all reason was gone from your mind. He'd been the one to break the kiss and you instantly felt regret. Kissing him while he was intoxicated was a mistake. You sent him to bed, left pills and water next to his bed, changed out of your still wet clothes and tried to sleep. You spent at least an hour talking to Aradia about what he did.

AA: what happened?

TA: we kii22ed.

AA: you kissed him?

TA: no he kii22ed me

AA: then what?

TA: then he 2top and ii put hiim iin bed

AA: whose bed?

TA: hii2 bed AA, what do you thiink ii'm going two take advantage of hiim?

AA: of course not, i was only wondering

TA: what do ii do?

AA: what was his reaction to the kiss?

TA: ii don't know. he looked…2urpri2sed liike he diidn't know what he wa2 doiing

AA: why would he be surprised if he initiated the kiss?

TA: probably becau2e he'2 wa2sted. ii get that VK ii2 trying two help but ii don't 2ee how thii2 wa2 the briilliiant plan 2he boa2ted about. iif anythiing iit made matter2 wor2e

AA: don't worry sollux, i'm sure things will be ok

TA: ii hope 2o

You'd gotten very little sleep that night and went straight to the comfort of your friends for advice and support. They told you that you couldn't avoid him forever. You had to face him so you went back to the dorm and waited. You made yourself busy with your work but every time a door down the hall opened you were whipping around to see if it was him. You were too wound up, too anxious. When he finally did come back he didn't wait even a second to ask about the kiss. He seemed unsure like he couldn't remember what happened for sure and you panicked. So you lied. You told him it was probably a dream and he was so relieved that it actually hurt you. You played it off like some big joke but inside you were screaming at yourself for lying and at him for being so happy about it.

You threw yourself into your project after that, if you were working you weren't thinking about him. He wasn't there across the room grunting over his homework. You stayed in the room more not wanting to discuss anything with anyone. You didn't speak to anyone for two days until he broke the silence. It was such a relief to hear his voice and while you helped him with his work you had to remind yourself not to touch him. You thought things were back to normal…until he'd invited you out. It wasn't a date, it was a group outing but it was something. You spent the next hour fighting with yourself over whether or not to go and almost missed them entirely. When you got out to the lot they were about to leave. Vriska fixed it so that he was in your car, which had been awkward to start.

Everything was nice until Dave showed up. You could see his physical response to seeing them together and you did your best to make him feel better without saying a word. He didn't even seem to care when you put your arm around his shoulders. You may have left it there longer than necessary, testing the boundaries. You'd gotten angry when Dave attacked him without provocation. He's a prick. You'd driven Karkat home and now…here you are. Staring at the wall in the empty room.

He'll be back soon and you really don't think you can face him right at the moment. Instead you turn on your heal and head right back out the door. You're practically running by the time you get outside and your sprint to the senior building. Your destination is at the other end of the hall and you don't miss a beat switching from running to knocking in record breaking seconds. It's not late so you're not too worried about disturbing her neighbors. You can hear music on the other side, cursing, shuffling and then the door is swinging open. She looks annoyed but it quickly melts away into worry as she practically yanks you inside.

"What's up Captor? I was trying to romance my woman."

The overhead lights are off and the only lamp still on has a pink scarf thrown over top to achieve "mood lighting". There's an open bottle of champagne and two glasses on the bed side table and music is streaming quietly from her laptop. Callie is sitting one of the beds. She waves and pulls out a book. Ok now you feel like a jerk. The world doesn't revolve around your romance problems and now you're disturbing their date. Good fucking job Sollux.

"I'm sorry. I'll go." You turn back to the door but she yanks you back until you fall onto the edge of the bed.

"Spill."

"I don't really know what happened."

She sits next to you and pats your leg. "Tell mama Roxy everything."

You do. You remind her of Vriska's plan and the kiss. You tell her about helping with his homework and the unexpected invitation to go out. You tell her about defending him and making him smile that small turn of the lips you could only see in the reflection of the window.

"So what's the problem? It sounds to me like the plan is workin' like a charm. The boy is warming up to you. He may have been drunk but that kiss wasn't nothing baby. We expected baby steps but that little cutie has just leapt forward into your territory. Now just don't fuck it up."

You sigh and put your face in your hands nearly knocking your glasses off of your face. "You know I'm going to. Everything I say pisses him off now."

"But he invited you to dinner and was nice to you."

"Only because we were mutually pissed at Dave."

She rolls her eyes and waves her hand around as if dusting that thought away. "The point is that you connected. Who cares if it was because of my bro's jealousy? At least it got you somewhere."

"You didn't set that up did you?"

"Nah, Dave's just a little douche sometimes."

You crack a smile and stand. "I should go. I didn't mean to disturb you guys."

"Just be glad you got here when you did. If you'd shown up a few minutes later you'd have been out of luck. Now get back to your room and talk to that cutie about nice things or about what a jerk my brother is." Your hand is on the door when she stops you. "Everything will be ok Sol. You can come talk to me whenever you need. Except for tonight. Now vamoose, my princess is waiting."

You say your goodbyes and leave feeling much better than you had a few minutes before. Roxy is like magic, just a few words from her and all of your worries are pushed away. You thought her plan was ridiculous from the start, and maybe things would have gotten to this point without it, but you're grateful for her help and advice. By the time you get back he's sitting on his bed, hair wet and hanging in his eyes, laptop poised on his curled up knees. He barely glances up at you when you enter the room.

"Where did you disappear to?"

"AA's laptop had a meltdown…she called me to fix it."

He nods his head and you're thankful that he doesn't automatically assume you'd gone out for a quickie. It's hard to defend yourself when you have to pretend it's true. Or at least imply it is. You change into pajamas and grab your laptop. You prefer working on your desktop but then you'd have your back to him and couldn't watch him. You can just barely see the chat window open on his screen. Who is he talking to? Is he talking about you? Is he complaining about you? Is it Jade? Or someone else he has a crush on? No, stop, thinking like that will only drive you crazy. You focus on your screen and try to work.

"So…what was wrong?" He asks a few minutes later.

"Huh?"

"With her laptop."

"Oh...uh…it just overheated. I set her up with a cooling pad and told her to wait until it was cool to the touch before turning it back on. It may need a new fan." This actually isn't a lie. It had happened a few days earlier but is still true.

He nods his head and turns back to this laptop. This is awkward but also oddly comfortable. Even if you never reach the boyfriend tier you'd be happy if things could stay like this. Idle chatting before bed, friendly nights out and harmless banter that didn't end in a fight and him stomping out of the room. Listening to Roxy has never lead you down the wrong path before and you intend to continue to take her advice if things keep on like this. And not just because she threatened to destroy your laptop with a mega virus.

_Headcanon time, I saw a little comic strip in the past where Sol tries to hack Roxy and she destroys his computer. So Roxy is the hacking queen and Sollux admires her for it._

_Also, I know that Karkat and Nepeta are friends in canon and he likes her enough to defend her and she doesn't force her feelings on him. But this is an AU and I just wanted to fit everyone in somewhere. She will have more romantic options (one of my guilty ships) in the future. I also like the idea that Nepeta would be wary around Gamzee after what happened, which is why she's "afraid" of him in this fic._


End file.
